Dear Diary
Living with epilepsy comes with many challenges. But one simple (and affordable) practice can help: keeping a seizure diary.
“A diary can be a useful device for understanding your epilepsy and taking control of your situation,” says Sarah Nistor, R.N., a nurse at NYU Langone Health Medical Center. “It allows you to better keep track of your seizures and identify if there are certain things that trigger your seizures, such as specific foods or environmental stressors.”
The manufacturer or distributor of the drug that you take to manage your epilepsy may offer a free seizure tracking tool on their website. Additionally, the Epilepsy Foundation provides a My Seizure Diary app. These tools make it easy to log your seizure types and durations, keep a list of your medications, set reminders for appointments, and view trends in your seizures. It also enables you to share information with your family members, caregivers, and—most importantly—your doctors, allowing them to optimize your treatment and care. Because when it comes to managing your epilepsy, knowledge can be the most empowering tool of all.
Originally published in EpilepsyAdvocate Spring 2019.
